OPRAH, who had shut down her famous book club after the James Frey scandal a year ago, yesterday selected an old friend, Sidney Poitier, for her next Book Club selection.

Poitier is the author of a memoir, “The Measure of a Man,” originally published in 2000.

She called him “one of my personal heroes since I was a little girl.”

It was a decidedly safe and uncontroversial choice for the book club, which used to be known for plucking novels – and their authors – from relative obscurity.

Authors became overnight stars and their books instant best-sellers because of her selection.

Yesterday’s choice means a significant financial windfall for Poitier – royalties from the sale of 300,000 or more books.

“The Measure of a Man” ranked 288,958 on Amazon.com yesterday before the announcement. It was No. 5 by mid-afternoon.

Mark Tauber, vice president and deputy publisher of HarperSan Francisco, an imprint of HarperCollins, declined yesterday to say how many books would be printed, but did say he expects to sell hundreds of thousands of copies.

“I’m sure there’ll be speculation about Winfrey picking yet another memoir,” Tauber said. “But Poitier’s life is filled with so much integrity.”